Swans in Sight

Hi All,
I know I've said it before, but I really love seeing swans on our lake!

See the tiny white splotch on the lake? Yup, it's a swan!

While the swans in actuality are pretty territorial and not necessarily "nice", I am always taken in by their beauty. Plus, this time of year, they bring hope that spring is on it's way. We are ready!

We are Three!

Hi All,
Happy birthday Drew and Bree! We made it to three! Grandma and Papa came to spend the afternoon with the birthday kids and to join us for dinner and cake.

Here are the cakes in waiting. The kids picked their themes.

Excited kiddos getting more presents....

A little horsing around - giddy up Papa!

Dad showed up with balloons, and Uncle D came with new bouncy balls.

Drew liked wrestling with his more than throwing it....

My girlie and her cake....

Drew couldn't keep his hands out of the cake. We had to work fast!

Two kids - three candles each!

Drew found the frosting irresistible. Can't say that I blame him!

His birthday, he can do what he wants. :)

More pictures to come when I get a hold of my mom's camera....

Birthday Eve

Hi All,
We held some birthday festivities a day prior to the big event, since it was a Sunday and Jim would be home.

The kids got to pick a card each to open on the eve of "birthday eve"....

We made a trip to Meijer Gardens to see what the butterflies were up to. 

But first, we checked out the turtles in the basement aquarium.

Not sure Drew can get his face much closer to the glass!

The butterfly exhibit had yet to officially open, but the specimens were impressive and plentiful!

Drew on butterfly watch....

Butterflies in waiting....

Our best attempt at a family shot....

Drew getting an up close look at one of the garden replicas in the play area.

The kids loved the "hands on" aspect of the replicas.

Back home, stacks of presents waiting to be opened!

Practicing on the new dirt digger. This is gonna be fun!

And a princess castle for the girl.

Holy Hello Kitty! Oh my!

Bree loving her new friend....

Dinner at Peppinos - love, love, love their cheesy bread!

Mama's girl....

Made it home in time for a few more minutes with the new toys, then off to bed. Cake will have to wait!

Potty Training - Update

Hi All,
Thought I'd give a quick update on our potty training challenges and successes. We have Drew back on the potty training bus. He's doing great, with a few exceptions. When he is home, he uses the potty completely without help and without issue. The biggest issue we have is he likes to wear his underwear backwards so he can see the big picture that is supposed to be on the rear. :)

 It's funny how different the two of them are. Bree likes a lot of hoopla when she uses the potty. She very much wants it to be known, wants a few high fives, wants to flush the toilet, and wants her potty treat. Drew just goes about his business, and I would never know about it unless I checked the potty from time to time.
Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps this is why we are having issues away from home. We tried an outing last night without diapers, and he wet through twice without a word of warning. In his defense, he is used to just heading to his potty and doing his thing, which he can't do out in public. We'll have to figure that one out. But, in the meantime, I am very proud of all his efforts.

Snow - Sans Ice

Hi All,
We woke up to about two inches of snow today. Then, around 8:00 it really started coming down. I know the picture does not do it justice, but it was so cool to see a shower of snowflakes swirling about over the completely thawed lake. It's been such a strange winter like that. We have even had ducks swimming about. Can you believe it?!?

I'm not complaining one bit. I think a warm streak with a few scattered snowstorms is a perfect way to spend the winter!

Party Planners and Poopers

Hi All,
We have been talking with the kids about the their birthday party since just after Christmas. I like to get a theme down then, so I can start planning and searching for decorations, cake ideas, etc. This year, when we asked D & B about what kind of theme they would like, Bree picked cats (which became Hello Kitty) and Drew enthusiastically chose trucks. This will be the first year of separate themes for the kids. I am fine with that, because they are separate individuals after all, that just happen to be born on the same day. I pretty much had the party plans in place by the end of January. The invites were going to be the challenging part, as far as combining Hello Kitty with a truck, but alas I came up with something wonderful.
So while I was compiling the final pieces for making the invites (in my usual late fashion), Drew informs me that he now wants a fish party, like his "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" shirt that we gave him for Valentines Day. Oh brother! I pleaded with him, "What about trucks. You love trucks, don't you?!?" He was not having it. I waited a day to see if this was just a passing fancy. Perhaps with a good night of sleep, he would forget all about the fish. No such luck. The next morning, I explained we had to get our invites out for the party, so we had to pick a theme and stick with it. He was still all about fish, so I threw my hands up in defeat and scrambled to come up with a fish / Hello Kitty themed invite.
We settled on doing a photo op to make a photo card to serve as the invite.

Bree was so cooperative. For a moment, I thought, "This is going to be easy after all."

Then came Drew's turn.

Oh buddy! When I got tired of taking pictures, I settled on these....

We picked up our photo cards then stopped home to address the envelopes and were off to the post office to drop them in the mail. Then, we rushed back home to plan a fish party for my truck party pooper!

Sleep Tight, Slater

Our cats nap often and everywhere (as many cats do). When Bree spotted Slater under the kitchen table taking a snooze, she decided to make him a little more comfortable with a blanket. So sweet!

Quotes of the Day

Bree: Talking to our cat, Roxy, "Do you know where my red Santa went?"

Drew: "Cats don't talk."

Bree: "Yes they do, they meow!"

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We had this discussion after reading a book from the fire department about going to neighbors for help when needed.

Me: "Bree, do you know where Bill and Marcia (neighbors) live?"

Bree: "In their house."

Me: "Do you know where their house is?"

Bree: "Outside"

Can't argue with the logic of a two year old!

Cupcake Faces

I made an impulse buy last week - the "Tornado Topper", which evenly distributes sprinkles on your cupcakes. It was priced under $10, so I thought why not let the kids enjoy it? Truth be told, it really is a toy more than "must have" in the kitchen. I personally think it's worth it for the entertainment value alone. I'm realizing I don't have any pictures of the gadget. But I did capture the kids' faces after trying their perfectly topped cupcakes.

As if cupcakes weren't fun enough!

Crisis Averted

Well, we have weathered the missing Santa crisis pretty well thus far (other than me feeling horribly guilty, that is.)

As I mentioned, Drew kindly offered to give Bree his Santa doll without hesitation. What a sweetheart! She slept with him and kept him close at hand for a few days.

Then, when our good friends (now residing in Ohio) who gave Bree her original Santa  heard the news, they sent their father to their storage unit here in town to locate another Santa from their stock. He visited yesterday afternoon with not one, but three Santas to choose from. Strangely enough, when Jim asked Bree over the weekend what color she would want if we could get her another Santa, she answered "blue". By sheer luck, there indeed was a blue Santa in the bunch, and it didn't take her long to swipe up blue boy in the process.

Bree treats this guy much like the original. While we still miss green Santa, this is a big relief to me! Big thanks to all those helping our little girl through what could have been quite an ordeal!

Other than that, it has been business as usual around here. Grandma and Papa came to visit. There was lots of  play time.

And a little bit of resting time, too.